Liquid elevator



March 5, 1929. 0. T. WEYMANN 1,703,973

IuIQU ID ELEVATOR Filed Feb. 1, 1922 lZZ/ZJ elwg 6. TH 6:712001712;

Patented Mar. 5, 1929.

UNITED STATES CHARLES 'ronuns WEYMANN, or rams, FRANCE.

LIQUID ELEVATOR.

Application filed February 1, 1322, Serial No; 533,460, and in France February 2, 1921.

It is known that liquid elevators operating by pressure and vacuum of gas and particularly those used for feeding heat engines with hydrocarbon, generally comprise lor the admission and exhaust of'the motive gas, valves controlled at the proper time by the displace ment of a float which follows the variations out level of the liquid within theloody oi the apparatus. a

In these latter apparatus, one of the valves isadapted to place in relation with a source be sufficient for overcoming the difference of pressures acting on either 'sideot the latter.

It is thus necessary to use in practice floats of considerable size, necessitating anelevating apparatus havlng an excessive volume out I of proportion with the useful volume of hydrocarbon which it admits and evacuates at each pulse.

This invention has for its object improve ments in the said apparatus, theseimprovements being mainly adapted to reduce the volume which had to be given, up to now, to the tion an auxiliary mechanism fed by any source ofcnergy whatever and particularly by the main driving pressure or source of vacuum, this mechanism being consequently capable of controlling the valves of the appa ratus with a power as high as desired.

This arrangement not only permits the. use-of very small floats, out it ensures also the; possibility of providing a new category of elevators operating with cycles different from those previously used. I

In the accompanying diagrammatic drawing and by way of example:

Fi s. 1 and 2 illustrate two'elevatorsmade t9 in accordance with the characterist1c features or the present invention.

, Fig. 1 shows a form of construction of a vacuum controlled elevator, m which the control, by the floatgot a single small valve,

produces, througlithemedium of an auxiliary piston, the operation of a large valve opening to the atmosphere,which sufiices to determine the, alternate periods of pressure and vacuum necessary for the working of the apparatus. i

to the vessel of utilization 0 arranged at a higher leverthan b. x This" elevator a is connected by a piping d with the reservoir hand isprovided at itslower part with a valve 6 through which the liquid periodically sucked by the said elevator I a can, in the interval of the suctions, flow by gravity towards the reserveiro. y

The elevator is, on the otherhand, capable I of communicating with the. atmosphere through a large valve alternately controlled,

return spring of an aux V opening in the elevator a.-Thehead of this. auxiliary cylinder IS in constant communia designates the bodyo'l the elevator adapted to raise the liquid from the reservoir 1) lthrough the leverg, by the piston and the iarv cylinder 7' l cation with the source of vacuum through a piping provided-with an ,adjusting'diaphragm This cyl nder .is in; intermittent communication with the elevator at through a piping}, the orificeofwhich is capable of being closed at therequ red times by a needle valve n which is connected, by the lever ,0, e

to the Heat 37. I

'llheoperation ott such-an apparatusis as follows: I p l J' t hen the float .7) is in its lowermost position, the need l e valve 11. is open and the vacuum is also le'ltin the auxiliary cylinder j. and in the bu ly oi the elevator a. i The piston it being I thus subjected to equal pressures on both its faces, yields to the return spring 2' without resistance and maintains the atmospheric valve in its closed position elevator a and permits the flow thereto of the liquid sucked through the piping (Z. This flow of liquid tends to diminish the vacuum existingbehind the diaphragm is in theelevator a and in the auxiliary cylinder this vacuum depends at the same time, on the difvference of level of the reservoirs a and b,

The vacuumincreases rapidly within the piping Z, etc, but keeps in the main a value d sensibly the same as (.5 (source or vacuum). When the level of the liquid sucked in the elevator a becomes suilicient ior lilting the float p, the latter rises drawing along with it the needle valve n which cuts oil the communication oi"- the elevator a with the cylinder y' and the source of vacuum.

From this fact, the vacuum (5 existing in the said elevator, will progressively diminish, considering the persistent flow oi the liquid and will talre a value (Z sensibly than al and which, at the limit, has only for its value the (lilierence in the levels of the liquid in the reservoirs o and b. Simultaneouslv th *acuuin (Z ez-zisting in the cylinder will increase again up to the value (5, the leakage through the needle valve a wlncn was weakening it being stopped.

The piston p on which is then exerted this notable difference of pressure ((ZcZ is therefore at tnis'monient ei'iergetically sucked upwardly and raises the large valve which had previously been pressed upon its seat by the vacuum (Z (Z and spring 2'.

Through this large orifice, atmospheric air enters freely in the elevator and allows the liquid it contains to flow by gravity into the reservoir 0 by pushing back the exhaust valve 6. During this exit, the float 7) progressively emerges from the liquid and its Archimedean thrust, diminishing its weight, finally overcoming the resistance oi the needle valve n pressed upon its seat by the depression (Z suddenly opening the orifice ot' the piping Z l The atmospheric pressure existing 111 the elevator a, then enters freely, through this piping, into the cylinder where it et ciently offsets the effect of the vacuum entering only through the small diaphragmed orifice 72.

The vacuum existing in the cylinder be comes therefore very small and is insuliicient for permitting the piston to resist to the return spring '27. The latter therefore pushes back the piston and determines the closin ot the atmospheric valve 7" which is before long eli'ectively pressed upon its seat by vacuum again produced in the elevator.

Simultaneously the liquid ceases to flow; the exhaust valve 0 closes, the apparatus comes back to its starting position, and the above described cycle begins over again.

it will be noted in this apparatus:

1. that the dill-Terence of vacuum Zul ensuring themovement oi the piston, can be extremely small and permit however the opening of a very large atmospheric valve, provided the piston it has a suitable cross section.

2. that considering the form of the cycle described, the use of a very large air valve allows to obtain by the simple operation of the latter the succession of the pressures and vacuum determining the suction and the flow oi the liquid, without necessitating simultaneously the control of the admission and cutting oil of vacuum.

3. that, moreover, the use of the control needle valve a otthe auxiliary mechanism as orifice of introduction of the vacuum in the elevator cuts oil precisely at the suitable times the communication between the elevator-and the source of vacuum in the best conditions and without necessitating the use of special member for that purpose.

By way of example, Fig. shows an apparatus comprising the same parts and in which the elevator is in constant cou'nnunication with the source of vaci'ium, the auxiliary cyl nder being intermittently connected thereto.

What i claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a liquid elevator operating by the i pressure variation of an elastic fluid, a chain her having an opening communicating with the atmosphere, a valve of large diameter controlling the opening, a lever bearing on said elevator and carrying said valve, a servomotor including a piston, a cylinder for said piston mounted on the chamber of the elevator and communicating therewith, the lever being connected with the piston of the servomotor, aspring acting on said piston to holdv the valve applied on its seat and means to pneumatically actuate the piston of the servo-motor and the co-operating air valve.

'2. in a liquid elevator operating by the pressure variation of an elastic fluid, a chamber having an opening communicating with the atmosphere, a valve ot'large diameter controlling the opening, a lever bearing on said elevator and carrying said valve, a servomotor including a piston, a cylinder for said piston mounted on the chamber of the elevator and communicating therewith, the lever being connected with the piston of the servomotor, a spring acting on said piston to hold the valve applied on its seat and'means to pneumatically actuate the piston ot the scrvomotor and the (f(i-o} ici'ating air valve, a small float inside the elevator chamber to produce the variations of pressure of the elasticfluid to actuate the servo-motor piston pneumatically.

3. In a liquid elevator operating by the pressure variation of an elastic fluid, a chamber having an opening communicating with the atmosphere, a valve of lame diameter cone trolling the opening, a lever bearing on said elevator and carrying said valve, a servomotor including a piston, a cylinder for said piston mounted on the chamber of the elevator and comn'iunicating therewith, the lever being connected with the piston of the servo-motor, a spring ing on said piston to hold the valve applied on its seat and means to 1311611;- matically actuate the piston of the servomotor and the co-operating air valve, a small float inside the elevator chamber subject to I tld the variations of the level of the liquid in said latter, a iever pivoted on the elevator and carrying said float and a valve depending from said lever to produce the variations oi pressure of the elastic fluid for actuating the servoanotor piston pneumatically.

4. In a liquid elevator-operating hyfthe pressure variation of an elastic fluid, a chainher having an opening communicating With the atmosphere, a Valve of large diameter controlling the opening, a lever bearing on said elevator and carrying said valve, a servoniotor including a piston, a cylinder for said piston mounted on the chamber of the elevator and communicating therewith, the lever being connected With the piston of the servomotor, a springacting on said piston to hold the valve applied on its seat and means to pneumatically actuate the piston of the servonature.

CHARLES TORR- 3S WEYMANN.

In testimony whereof I have aifixed my sig- 

